New Delhi, August 30
The Supreme Court today referred to a nine-judge constitution Bench a bunch of petitions challenging state assemblies' powers to pass laws to circumvent its orders and Parliament, subsequently placing the same in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to take them away from judicial review.
The Tamil Nadu law increasing the reservation limit to 69 per cent to overreach the apex court order, fixing the maximum limit for it at 50 per cent and various land reform laws enacted by different states are among the legislations placed in the Ninth Schedule.
Under the constitutional provisions, any law placed in the Ninth Schedule by Parliament becomes out of the reach of the courts to adjudicate upon them.
A three-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice Y.K.Sabharwal, Mr Justice C.K. Thakker and Mr Justice P.K.Balasubramanyan said the court would first examine whether Parliament
has the power to take away the power of judicial review from the court on a law under challenge by placing it in the Ninth Schedule and only after that if the situation so arises,
the petitions would be heard on merit.
Besides, the Tamil Nadu legislation increasing the total limit of reservation to 69 per cent after the Supreme Court in the Mandal Commission case had fixed it at 50 per cent, land and revenue reform laws passed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat and some other legislations enacted by other states, were also under challenge before the apex court in at least 30 special leave
petitions.
Earlier, a five-judge constitution Bench in a judgement of 1999 had recommended that a nine-judge Bench would examine the question whether Parliament's placing the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal laws on land reforms in the Ninth Schedule would not hit the basic structure of the Constitution.
Since then the number of petitions raising the issue had swelled with several state laws being placed in the Ninth Schedule. At least 30 such petitions were clubbed together for
hearing today.
These petitions stated that the Ninth Schedule was amended from time to time by the inclusion of various Acts and regulations, which was open to challenge on the grounds that it was beyond the competence of Parliament to do so, as it would be in contravention of Articles 14, 19 and 31 and thus disturb the constitutional balance of power.
